LEWISVILLE, Texas — When a trench collapsed during sewage line repairs in the Indian Oaks subdivision of Lewisville last month, a construction worker who was trapped inside was buried alive.
The victim, Alberto Sandoval, became trapped and was unable to crawl out due to his bad knee, according to a Lewisville incident report obtained by WFAA. As workers tried to move dirt away from him, more dirt collapsed, the incident report said.
Steps away, Sandoval's brothers watched and waited as recovery crews tried to locate Sandoval. They learned he didn’t survive.
Sandoval’s widow, Saira Sandoval De La Rosa, was home in Mexico with their two young children when she received the worst phone call of her life: Her husband of 16 years had suffered an accident.
At that point, she believed he was still alive.
De La Rosa, whose cousins live in North Texas, said some of them began frantically checking area hospitals to find Sandoval.
It wasn’t until hours later she learned he had died in a trench collapse at work.
“Sometimes we still think it’s a nightmare,” De La Rosa told WFAA in Spanish. “The way he died was so tragic… without the ability to breathe or do anything to save himself.”
Sandoval, who is originally from Zacatecas, Mexico, had just arrived in the U.S. six months prior to his death. De La Rosa described her husband as a dedicated father who worked hard to provide for his family back home. His plan was to save money toward their childrens' college fund and build his family a house in Mexico.
“He was a joyful person, loved to dance, make jokes, he had a lot of friends,” De La Rosa said. “It’s unfair that my husband lost his life. My children lost their father.”
De La Rosa is seeking $1 million in a civil suit against the City of Lewisville and numerous companies behind the project he was working for when he died. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of negligence and vicarious liability.
The defendants named in the lawsuit include: Axis Contracting Services, 2R Construction, the City of Lewisville, Raul Armando Canales Jr., Richard Dale Johnson Jr. and Jesus Isaac Sandoval.
One of the defendants, a contractor named Jesus Isaac Sandoval, is the victim’s brother.
The suit also argues that the defendants failed to provide the necessary safety training and appropriate trench protective systems. It is a direct result of these actions, the suit argues, that the fatal accident occurred.
"Defendants owed him the duty to provide a safe place to work, warn of dangers, provide necessary instrumentalities and safety equipment to safely perform work," the lawsuit states. "They failed to provide harness, lifeline, and other necessary equipment to protect workers from trenches collapse."
WFAA has made multiple attempts to reach each of the defendants, but has yet to receive comment as of Thursday evening.
“I can only imagine all he suffered,” De La Rosa said. “What did he think in his final moments? If there was negligence, I just ask for justice. That’s all.”
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has an ongoing investigation into the incident.
Following Sandoval’s death, OSHA issued a warning to Texas employers about the dangers of trench collapses.
According to OSHA, there have been five trench deaths nationwide so far this year, and two of the five deaths (40%) have been in Texas. In 2023, there were a total of 15 occupational fatalities due to a trench collapse, down from a total of 40 in 2022, according to OSHA.
Sandoval, who had a 14-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son, planned to return to Mexico for his daughter’s 15th birthday.
His body was returned to Mexico for his burial.